My Review of Edelweiss Lodge and Resort in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

My husband, Bill, and I recently paid a visit to Edelweiss Lodge and Resort in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Bill was at the Edelweiss, attending a conference. I got to tag along because the room was paid for and Bill was planning to drive. That’s one of the nice perks of living in Germany. In any case, I had heard that the Edelweiss was a very nice facility and that Garmisch-Partenkirchen, was a beautiful place to visit. I was pretty excited about our trip to the extreme southern part of Germany for a few days of networking for Bill and R&R; for me.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Before I visited the Edelweiss, I thought the town where it’s located was simply called Garmisch. Indeed, most people I’ve talked to tend to leave off the “Partenkirchen” part of the town’s name. I found out the reason for the town’s hyphenated moniker. Until 1935, Garmisch and Partenkirchen were separate communities. However, Garmisch-Partenkirchen hosted the 1936 Winter Olympic Games. In anticipation of the Olympics, Adolf Hitler forced the two market towns to combine. Nowadays, most people refer to the area as simply Garmisch, but its official name is Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

The town is located in extreme southern Bavaria, Germany in the Oberbayern region. It’s very close to the Austrian border; in fact, the borders of Switzerland and Italy are also very accessible. The city of Munich, Germany is just 56 miles away, while Innsbruck, Austria is a 34 mile drive. The area is surrounded by the Alps, which gives it a dramatic natural beauty and makes it a prime spot for tourism.

The Edelweiss Lodge and Resort

Accommodations

The Edelweiss Lodge and Resort was built in 2004 and consists of 330 rooms and suites. The resort features standard rooms that sleep four adults as well as luxury suites that can accommodate up to ten people. The Edelweiss Lodge and Resort also has a Vacation Village, which offers cabins that can be rented on a weekly basis and campsites for those who want to rough it.

Food Service

The Edelweiss Lodge and Resort offers four dining options. There’s Zuggy’s Base Camp, a casual bar/restaurant that offers burgers, pizzas, and spirits; Market Station, an international buffet restaurant; Pullman Place, a more upscale sit down restaurant offering steaks and seafood; and The POiNT Snack and Juice Bar, which sells sandwiches, salads, and Starbucks coffee.

Amenities and Activities

The Edelweiss Lodge and Resort offers a number of day tours, classes, and activities for patrons. There’s an arcade, a spa which offers massage treatments and facials, an exercise room, an indoor heated pool, and a huge hot tub. Quiet hours for the hot tub are from 8:30 to 10:00pm, every night. Kids are not allowed in the hot tub during that time period. For those who enjoy gambling, there are slots and video poker machines available. The resort also has a gift shop that sells souvenirs and books tours. AFN and German television are available in all rooms, as is a DVD player. In room Internet access is also available for $9.95 per 24 hours or $49.95 for seven days. The resort also has an Internet cafe for those who don’t have their own computer. The rates are $6 per hour or $24 for 24 hours. Commissary, BX/PX, and Class VI facilities are located at Artillery Kaserne, which is literally across the main drag from Sheridan Kaserne.

The Staff

Just about every staff member I encountered was an American, with the exception of the housekeeping staff. They all wore nametags that listed their American hometown.

Eligibility

Unlike most resorts, The Edelweiss Lodge and Resort is restricted to authorized patrons. In order to be able to stay at the Edelweiss, you must fall into one of the following categories: active-duty Service member, military retiree, reservist, guardsman, current Department of Defense and Coast Guard civilian employee stationed overseas, foreign military on orders assigned at a U.S. military installation, family member of an authorized patron, or other supporter of the Department of Defense. Room rates are based on the sponsor’s pay grade and apply to both active duty and retired personnel. In order to access the lodge, you would generally have to have a valid identification card which would allow you to get onto a U.S. military installation, as the lodge is located on Sheridan Kaserne next to the George C. Marshall Center.

Our experiences

The Lobby

My first impression of the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort was a good one. I was first surprised by the lodge’s size. The building is not tall, but it is very spread out. The lobby area is very impressive, with a huge, cavernous sitting area. A large fireplace is the centerpiece, with lots of old fashioned rocking chairs situated in front of it. There are also plenty of comfortable couches scattered around the first floor of the lobby. On the second floor, there’s a huge window in front of a balcony. The balcony offers a gorgeous view of the Alps. Rocking chairs are also available in that area. Instrumental music is piped in over the resort’s sound system. When Bill and I were there, the music mostly sounded like new age renditions of popular movie themes. To be honest, it kind of got on my nerves because it was sometimes a bit loud.

Our Room

We were assigned to room 2113, which is a standard room. As we were headed there on the first day, Bill commented that the lady who checked us in had said it was a bit of a walk to get there, but it offered a nice view. It’s true, getting to our room was a bit of a walk. We traveled down three hallways to get there!

The room itself was like a standard American hotel room, which makes it different than typical German accommodations. The room had two queen sized beds, an armoire with a large television and DVD player, two telephones, and a bathroom with a tub and a shower. The room also included an iron, a hair dryer, a mini fridge, and a towel warmer. The decor was a little hokey. The furniture was done to look like it was made of timber and the carpeting had little pictures of moose on it. On the other hand, since we’ve been in Germany, the only hotel room we’ve stayed in that compared to this one was at a Marriott near Stuttgart. Of course, the room at the Marriott cost the euro equivalent of $300, whereas the room at the Edelweiss cost $158 in American money.

I was glad to see that the room was very clean and everything worked. All rooms at the Edelweiss have balconies. Our balcony offered a lovely view of the Alps with a table and chairs. An ashtray is also provided, since smoking is prohibited in the lodge. Both beds were very comfortable, though I was glad I brought my own pillow. I prefer down pillows and the ones at the Edelweiss are stuffed with polyester fill.

The television included all of the AFN channels, Sky TV, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and German channels. I was also shocked to find that our TV picked up Armenian public television. I used to live in Armenia as a Peace Corps Volunteer, so I could actually understand some of what was being said. I have no idea why the Edelweiss has Armenian TV… but it sure was interesting.

We had no serious issues with noise.

The Food

To be completely honest, I was not very impressed with the food. The first night, we ate dinner at Zuggy’s Base Camp. Bill and I were both tired, cranky, and hungry. We sat down at a booth and I looked around… the first thing I thought was that the place reminded me of an Outback Steak House. The menu consisted of pizzas, burgers, and an assortment of fattening appetizers. Bill and I both ordered cheeseburgers and draft beers. I overheard our waiter telling another party that a couple of the more popular appetizers were sold out.

When our beers were brought to us, I was a little saddened to see that neither brew had much of a head on it. Once you’ve been in Germany for awhile, you start to get used to beers with wonderful rich, foamy heads… These two looked pretty sad in comparison and reminded us that we were in an American establishment. The burgers were okay, but I was really disappointed with the french fries, which were kind of dry and tasted stale.

If I was unimpressed with Zuggy’s, I was even less impressed with the Market Station. Bill and I ate breakfast and lunch there every day because Bill’s meals were included in his conference. While the Market Station offers a small salad bar, soups, breads, desserts, drinks, and a choice of main courses and sides, I thought the food was pretty mediocre. The hot dishes were often lukewarm or stale and the food didn’t look or taste particularly good. Out of all of the food I ate at the Market Station, I liked the bread the best. For what we paid, I think the quality could have been much better.

I will say that I did enjoy the Market Station’s atmosphere. The restaurant has a pleasant ambiance. However, when Bill and I were staying at the Edelweiss, the place was teeming with high school students. I felt like I was back in college eating in the dining hall.

Bill and I did try the Pullman Place and thought the food quality was much better there. We had no trouble getting a table and we had a very good waitress who very kindly gave us silverware to take to our room when we needed to pack up our leftovers. But the Pullman Place is only open for dinner five nights a week and eating there costs a bit more than at the Market Station.

We ate dinner in town twice. I want to recommend El Greco, a Greek restaurant located very close to the train station. We ate there our third night and both really enjoyed our meals. In fact, I think the food we ate at El Greco was the highpoint of our stay in Garmisch.

The Amenities

I did not go on any of the tours. I wish I had booked one, since so many were available. But I wanted to be able to go with Bill, so I entertained myself at the lodge every day. I enjoyed the pool, which is indoor and heated. It’s only 4 and a half feet deep, but it’s clean and pleasant. Naturally, the pool is popular with kids and there were quite a few there while we were visiting.

I liked the huge hot tub even better than the pool, but to access it, you have to go outside! That’s not so much fun in late January! Luckily, the shock of the cold is short lived, since the hot tub is close to the lodge. The hot tub is about two and a half feet deep and there are two sections that run bubbles in cycles as well as a fountain that’s great for getting a little aqua massage.

The Edelweiss Lodge and Resort has a nice exercise room equipped with Lifecycle exercise equipment. There are ellipticals, treadmills, stationary bikes, and weight machines, as well as free weights and body balls. I never saw it crowded; it was always clean and well stocked with clean towels. Several large muted flat screen televisions are set to different AFN channels and pop music is piped in over the sound system.

The locker room was also pleasant. It features a steam room, sauna, showers, and foot baths.

If you like to ski or snowboard, you’re in luck. The Edelweiss Lodge and Resort offers skiing and snowboarding classes as well as lift tickets. Golfing and rock climbing are also available.

My Massage

I talked Bill into booking a Swedish massage with heated stones for me. I had never had a Swedish massage with stones before and was curious. At $65 for an hour, we thought the massage was very reasonably priced. I was given the option of having a male or female therapist. I said I didn’t care which gender my therapist was, so I got a male therapist. He was very friendly and gave me a very pleasant massage, all the while offering me the scoop on how he and his colleagues got hired to work in Garmisch. The POiNT Wellness Center offers a number of different treatments and I wish I could have tried more than just the Swedish massage. The treatment was billed to our room, which made it very convenient. Just so you know, tips are very much appreciated by the staff and apparently seldom received. If you want to get a massage or a spa treatment, be sure to book it well in advance of your arrival. Apparently, massages are very popular and time slots fill up fast.

Final Thoughts

I have mixed feelings about the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort. On one hand, it is a very nice, modern facility that offers a lot of amenities that Americans have gotten used to. On the other hand, staying there is kind of like being stuck on a compound. You’re behind a fenced in area, which separates you from the locals. Practically everyone staying and working at the Edelweiss is an American. While that means you should have no trouble communicating with the staff or meeting new people, it also means that the experience is something less than authentic. It seems like a waste to take a vacation in Germany, yet spend it surrounded by Americans.

Also, this resort is fabulous for people who have kids… but maybe not as great for those who don’t. We happened to be staying at the Edelweiss in the dead of winter, when most families have their kids in school. I imagine that in the summer, the place is swarming with kids, which may not make it the most romantic place to stay. And again, I definitely think the food could have been a lot better than it was.

I’m sure Bill and I will be staying at the Edelweiss again, since the facility hosts a lot of conferences. The next time we stay there, I will make a point of booking a couple of tours. Overall, I’m left with a positive impression, although I do think there’s definitely some room for improvement.

Reference:

• www.edelweisslodgeandresort.com/home.html